


Vernon and Petunia

by TheMagdala



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Marauders - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28931694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMagdala/pseuds/TheMagdala
Summary: Vernon recalls his first date with Petunia Evans the night a particular package arrives on their doorstep
Kudos: 1





	Vernon and Petunia

Petunia and Vernon sat in the kitchen, the silence pushing itself into every empty space. Vernon studied Petunia; usually so light and airy, she put on the kettle like she was stuck in mud.  
He noticed her eyes glaze over lost in thought as the kettle overfilled with water from the tap. Gently as his large frame would allow, he moved up behind her, turned off the tap, put down the kettle and wrapped her up the way he did on their second date.

***

Their first had been a disaster. It was summer holiday and Vernon had promised her a night at the drive-in. After picking her up in his father's car, they drove off in the dimly fading light. 

It must have been a deer... Or maybe a giant dog that jumped out of the mist causing Vernon to swerve. Had his hands not been sleek with nervous sweat, Vernon may have been able to regain control, but the wheel spun out from under his fingers. Just before they collided with an old willow tree, the car suddenly stopped.  
Petunia immediately leapt out of the car screaming every obscenity in the book at the foggy air. After which she clambered back in, sitting as rigid as a stone.

"Are... Are you alright? I-I’m sorry that- that thing just came out of-"

"Yes I saw it,” she curtly cut in. "Just take me home." 

Their second date came as a surprise when the doorbell of the Dursley residence rang at a very improper hour for guests to call.

Mrs. Dursley did not like for her evening routine to be interrupted and answered the door sporting a face that reflected such feelings.

On her doorstep was a gift basket. Filled to the brim with chocolates and odd boxes filled with cards of strangely dressed figures. Atop the basket pinned to a note was a lily flower.  
The note read  
"The stars ought to be a lovely sight next morrow night. Let us picnic beneath the tree with roots to see"  
"What is this utter nonsense?" Mrs. Dursley crunched as she brought the basket inside.  
"Vernon you stupid boy, what is this nonesense I say?" 

Vernon studied the basket, and pondered the note.  
"The chocolate is for you, mother.” And without another word he took the note, smiled slightly and folded it gently, placing it in his breast pocket. Mrs. Dursley had every intention to give him a good wallop, but upon taking a small bite of a particularly enticing chocolate bar, she seemed to forget why she was angry in the first place and curled up by the hearth like she did as a child.

When Vernon Dursley called asking if she might be interested in stargazing tomorrow, Petunia was filled with curiosity at how he might have known her love for astronomy. She did not notice her sister’s subtle smile at the sound of the telephone ring.

They drove up to the highest field outside of town and laid out a blanket below a large maple tree whose roots were so large they shaped the ground. Before she sat down, Petunia took off her shoes and walked delicately through the damp grass. She took a moment to let her lungs embrace the summer air and allowed herself to feel that which she constantly kept at bay. She felt the rhythm of energy in every blade of grass and when her eyes wandered up to the sky, the stars seemed to bloom in the darkness. Suddenly she felt that thing inside her boiling up like a pot of unwatched stew and she began to shake trying to push it back down. That’s when she felt two arms wrap around her and anchor her back to her feet. She felt warm; her toes were cold in the dewy grass, but in this embrace of Vernon Dursley, she felt safe. 

***

Vernon unwrapped Petunia from his embrace and turned her so he could look into her eyes. The eyes that could capture starlight and reflect it back onto the world. He watched as the starlight dimmed and what was left burned as a rageful fire. 

“If the boy is here…” Vernon probed gently, “does that mean that…”

“He found them. Yes.” Petunia answered quickly, as if saying more would tear her in half. 

“And it seems they left us to…”

“Yes.” She whispered. Suddenly she felt as though her legs had been slashed out from under her and she collapsed into Vernon’s waiting arms. 

“What are we to do, my love? What if he comes for us? Is there somewhere we might take the boys to be safe? Perhaps they, this Dumble-”

“They have shown how much protection they can offer. No. I will not put the life of my baby and my family in their hands. I will not make the same mistake as my sister. They will not take anyone else from me. Harry will stay here. He will learn to smother the infection of magic just as I did… even if we have to force it out of him. Vernon, we will have to be strong. It is the only way. And we will spoil our little boy as if each day he could be taken from us.”

They stood in the dark kitchen, the kettle long forgotten beside the sink; thinking of the death and staring at the boy who lived through it.


End file.
